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159 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Most all of the countries in Eastern Europe were once part of this empire which lasted from 1922-1991.
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The Soviet Union (USSR)
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People in Poland are called...
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Poles
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What is the capital of Poland?
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Warsaw
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The port cities of Poland are located on which sea?
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The Baltic Sea
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This city is Poland's cultural center.
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Krakow
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Most Poles, Russians, and other Eastern European peoples are classified in this people group.
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The Slavs
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Which two countries worked together to invade and divide Poland in 1939?
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Nazi Germany & the Soviet Union
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Which country was divided between Austria, Prussia (Germany), and Russia in 1795?
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Poland
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When did the modern nation of Poland first receive its independence?
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After World War I
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Out of all of the Nazi concentration camp constructed in Poland, which was the largest and most infamous?
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Auschwitz (Owsh Vits)
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What did the West call the area under the control of the USSR?
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The Soviet Bloc ("Iron Curtain")
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Who appointed puppet rulers in Eastern European countries during the Cold War?
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The USSR
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Who was the famous supporter of the Polish independence movement?
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Pope John Paul II
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Which nation has the healthiest/most prosperous post-Soviet economy?
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Poland
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This nation builds cars, buses, tanks, & helicopters.
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Poland
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What is Kielbasa?
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Polish sausage
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The capital of Lithuania is...
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Vilnius (Veel nee us)
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It was unified with Poland to form a massive empire that stretched from the Baltic to the Mediterranean.
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Lithuania
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Latvia's capital is...
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Riga (Ree guh)
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What people founded Latvia?
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Teutonic (German) Knights
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Latvia and several other Baltic nations have been famous for exporting this natural gemstone since antiquity.
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Amber
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What is Latvia's major export?
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Livestock
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This capital of Estonia is...
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Tallinn (Tahl leen)
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The Estonian people and language are descendant from...
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Finland
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Unlike most Eastern European nations, Estonians mostly practice this religion.
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Lutheranism
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What was the secret peace agreement between the Nazis and the Soviets called?
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The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
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Which nation is known as the "Baltic Tiger"?
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Estonia
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Which mountains run through the Czech Republic, Slovakia, & Hungary?
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The Carpathian Mountains
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The capital of the Czech Republic is...
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Prague
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In 1993, the Czech Republic & Slovakia split this country in two during the "Velvet Divorce".
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Czechoslovakia
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Hitler annexed this strategic, well-defended part of Czechoslovakia in 1939 while the allied did nothing...
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the Sudetenland
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What was the name of Czechoslovakia's bloodless independence movement?
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the "Velvet Revolution"
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After the fall of Communism, this nation practiced mass privatization of its industry, literally giving the businesses to the people.
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Czechoslovakia
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The western part of the Czech Republic is known as...
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Bohemia
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The eastern part of the Czech Republic is called...
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Moravia
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Slovakia's capital city is called...
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Bratislava (Brah tees lava)
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This Eastern European river flows through ten countries!
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The Danube
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These people were forced to fight with the Nazis in WWII.
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The Slovakians
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The capital of Hungary is...
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Budapest
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Hungarians are descendent from what people group?
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the Magyars
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This nation is located in a rich basin between the Balkan & Carpathian Mountains.
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Hungary
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Hungarians are known for being great at...
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Math & Science
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This region of Europe is known as the "Powder Keg of Europe".
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the Balkans
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List the six new nations of former Yugoslavia:
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Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, & Macedonia
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This Balkan nation is heavily influenced by its closest neighbor, Italy.
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Slovenia
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What is the capital of Slovenia?
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Ljubljana (Loo blee ahna)
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This nation was the first to break away from Yugoslavia.
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Slovenia
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The name of Croatia's coastal region on the Adriatic Sea
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The Dalmatian Coast
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The bustling capital of Croatia is...
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Zagreb
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This Balkan nation is sandwiched between Croatia & Serbia... a recipe for disaster!
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Bosnia & Herzegovina
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What is Bosnia's capital?
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Sarajevo (Sara yay voe)
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What was the name of the 1991-1995 conflict between the Croats, Serbs, and Bosnians?
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The Yugoslav Wars
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The Serbians & Croats were guilty of committing this against the Bosnians, an attempted extermination of a people.
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Genocide
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In 1995, President Bill Clinton negotiate a temporary peace in Yugoslavia called the...
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Dayton Peace Accords
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This Balkan nation was less willing to dismantle communist Yugoslavia and is still referred to as "Rump Yugoslavia".
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Serbia
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The capital of Serbia is...
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Belgrade
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Who was the authoritarian dictator of Serbia from 1989-1997?
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Slobodan Milosevic (Meelow suhvich)
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Montenegro only recently voted (2006) to become independent of this other Balkan nation?
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Serbia
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What does "Montenegro" mean?
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"Black Mountain"
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What is Montenegro's capital city?
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Podgorica (Pod gorykah)
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Who was the famous Bronze Age world conqueror from Macedonia?
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Alexander the Great
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Macedonia's capital is...
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Skopje (Scope juh)
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What empire was kicked out of the Balkans in 1913 at the end of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913)?
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the Ottoman Empire
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What is the poorest nation in Europe?
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Macedonia
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The capital of Albania is...
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Tirana (Teerah nah)
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Albania was conquered by _______ at the beginning of WWII.
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Italy
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Albania has coastline on the _______ Sea.
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Adriatic
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Who was the "Albanian Dragon", the fierce warrior that fought the Turks until his death in 1468?
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Gjergj Kastrioli Skanderbeg
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He was the cruel communist dictator of Albania from 1941-1945.
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Enver Hoxha (Hocha)
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Regarding religious affiliation, most Albanians are...
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Muslim
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The capital of Bulgaria
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Sofia (So fyuh)
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Ancient Bulgarians were called what by the Romans?
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Thracians (Tray shins)
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This Eastern European alphabet was created by and named after a Greek missionary.
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the Cyrillic Alphabet
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This is the only Romance language spoken in Eastern Europe.
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Romanian
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What is the capital of Romania?
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Bucharest (Boo kurest)
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The Romans called Romania...
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Dacia (Day shuh)
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This is the name of the largest gypsy tribe in Europe, they live mainly in Romania.
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the Roma
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Romania is divided into these two regions...
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Transylvania & Wallachia
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Who was the cruel Romanian "Dracula" that tortured his Turkish prisoners of war?
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Vlad III ("Vlad the Impaler")
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The name of this nation means "White Russia".
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Belarus
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The capital of Belarus is...
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Minsk
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What did the Soviets call WWII?
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The "Great Patriotic War"
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Which area of the USSR was most devastated by WWII?
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Belarus
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This was Stalin's plan to make Belorussians, and the rest of the Eastern Europeans, more "Russian".
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Sovietization
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What is the CIS?
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An economic and political organization formed from the former USSR member states.
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What does C.I.S. stand for?
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Commonwealth of Independent States
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Where is the CIS headquartered?
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Minsk
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Belarus is the leading producer of this mineral that is used for fertilizer.
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Potash
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Which nation is traditionally known as the "breadbasket of Eastern Europe"?
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Ukraine
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What is the sprawling capital of Ukraine?
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Kiev
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This is the major river of both Ukraine & Belarus.
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The Dnieper (Neeper)
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This large Ukrainian peninsula juts into the Black Sea.
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The Crimea (Cry mee uh)
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This Viking tribe established a medieval empire around Kiev in AD 880.
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the Rus
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Seven million Ukrainians died during this famine.
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The Holodomor (1932-1933)
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Who caused the Ukrainian famine?
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Joseph Stalin: he was taking all of the Ukrainians grain
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This nuclear plant exploded in 1986, killing over 5,000 people.
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Chernobyl (Chur noble)
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Ukraine is a leading producer of...
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Spacecraft
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This small nation is located between Romania & Ukraine.
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Moldova
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What is the capital of Moldova?
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Chisinau (Cheese now)
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What was the name of the war in Moldova in 1992?
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The War of Transnistria
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Moldova traditionally practices viticulture, the growing of _____.
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Grapes
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The three symbols of Russia are...
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a Bear, a two-headed eagle, & St. George killing a dragon
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What is the capital of Russia?
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Moscow
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This is the longest river in Europe.
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the Volga
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Where are the Kremlin & St. Basil's Cathedral both located?
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Red Square, Moscow
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Moldova traditionally practices viticulture, the growing of _____.
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Grapes
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The president of Russia lives in the __________, an intimidating fortress overlooking the Volga.
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Kremlin
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The three symbols of Russia are...
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a Bear, a two-headed eagle, & St. George killing a dragon
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This is the famous, onion-domed Orthodox church in downtown Moscow.
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St. Basil's Cathedral
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What is the capital of Russia?
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Moscow
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What religion is most practiced in Russia?
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Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Christianity
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This is the longest river in Europe.
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the Volga
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What is the largest nation in Eastern Europe and in the World?
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Russia
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Where are the Kremlin & St. Basil's Cathedral both located?
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Red Square, Moscow
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Europe spans these two continents:
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Europe & Asia
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The president of Russia lives in the __________, an intimidating fortress overlooking the Volga.
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Kremlin
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This is the famous, onion-domed Orthodox church in downtown Moscow.
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St. Basil's Cathedral
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What religion is most practiced in Russia?
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Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Christianity
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What is the largest nation in Eastern Europe and in the World?
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Russia
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Russia spans these two continents:
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Europe & Asia
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How many time zones are in Russia?
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Eleven (11)
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Western Russia acts more _____ while Eastern Russia acts more _____.
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European / Asian
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This Western Russian city is the center of culture, history, & education and is heavily influenced by the West.
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St. Petersburg
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St. Petersburg was once named...
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Leningrad & Petrograd
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Kaliningrad Obalst is a tiny disconnected part of which country?
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Russia
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What divides East and West Russia?
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The Ural Mountains (the Urals)
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What are Russia's treeless grasslands called?
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Steppes (Steps)
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This is the name of Russia's vast and mostly deserted eastern frontier.
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Siberia
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Russia's largest lake is...
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Lake Baikal
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What sea separates Russia from the United States (Alaska)?
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the Bering Sea
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10 million Russians are _______, a people group that once lived in Turkey
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Tatars
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These wild and rough horsemen once roamed the Russian steppes looking for a fight.
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the Cossacks
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Whose invasion of Europe forced the Rus to relocate to Moscow?
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the "Golden Horde" (the Mongols)
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Who built St. Petersburg, Russia as a new, more western and modern capital city?
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Peter the Great
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What did Peter the Great place a tax on?
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Beards
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During this czarina's reign, Russia experienced its greatest expansion.
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Catherine the Great
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He was the last czar of Russia?
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Nicolas II
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This dynastic family ruled Russia from 1613-1917.
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The Romanov family
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Who was the spooky monk that transfixed the royal family of Russia with his supposed magic powers?
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Grigori Rasputin
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What distracted Czar Nicholas II, leaving Russia weak and vulnerable to a revolution?
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World War I
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The last czar of Russia was overthrown in 1917 during this rebellion.
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The Bolshevik Revolution
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Who was the communist leader of the Bolshevik Revolution?
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Vladimir Lenin
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Until recently, it was thought that this Romanov princess may have escaped the fate of her other family members.
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Anastasia Romanov
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What does U.S.S.R. stand for?
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Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
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He did all of Lenin's "dirty work" during the revolution in Russia and formed the KGB, the secret police.
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Leon Trotsky
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Which dictator of Russia was called the "Man of Steel"? It's not Superman!
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Joseph Stalin
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Where were Russians sent if they disagreed with Stalin and his communist regime?
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Gulags (Work-to-death camps)
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What was the forty-four year conflict between NATO (the US and Europe) & the USSR called?
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the Cold War
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What is the currency of Russia?
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the Ruble (Rooble)
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Which country is the richest in natural resources in the world?
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Russia
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Russia is the world's leading producer of...
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Natural gas
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Russia contains 1/4 of the world's...
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Fresh water
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Who is the most famous Russian composer?
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Pyotr Tchaikovsky (Chy kov ski)
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Who are the most famous Russian writers?
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Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy
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Where were the US & the USSR "racing" to in the 1960's?
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Space
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What was the name of the Russian satellite that first orbited the earth in 1957?
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Sputnik
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A Russian, he was the first man in space.
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Yuri Garagin
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Over 100 million of these Russian rifles have been built and shipped to bad guys all over the world.
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the AK-47
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This Russian fighter plane is the most widely produced jet aircraft of all time.
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the MiG (MiG-15)
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